WCIU-TV

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WCIU-TV
Chicago, Illinois
Branding	The U
Slogan	U'z got it!
Channels	26 (UHF) analog, 27 (UHF) digital
Affiliations	Independent
Owner	Weigel Broadcasting ("WCIU-TV Limited Partnership")
Founded	1964
Call letters meaning	We're Chicago's 1st UHF W Chicago, Illinois UHF (during Univision affiliation: W Chicago, Illinois Univision)
Former affiliations	Telemundo (1985-1989) Spanish International Network/Univision (late 1960s-1985, 1989-1995) Kids' WB! (1995-2004)
Transmitter Power	5000 kW/472 m (analog) 160. kW/510 m (digital)
Website	www.wciu.com

WCIU-TV is an independent television station, based in Chicago, Illinois. It operates on UHF channel 26 and is Chicago's oldest UHF station, signing on the air in 1964. WFBN-LP (which was WCWW-LP for six months between March and September 2006, and ironically were the former call letters of Chicago's channel 66) currently serves as the station's low-powered repeater in Rockford, Illinois on channel 33.

The station is owned by Weigel Broadcasting, a locally-based broadcaster that also owns stations in Milwaukee (CBS affiliate WDJT and two low power stations, independent station WMLW-CA and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LP) and South Bend, Indiana (three low power stations, ABC affiliate WBND-LP, CW affiliate WCWW-LP and low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYS-LP). Weigel also owns WWME-CA, channel 23, and WFBT-CA (channel 48), a low-powered station, brokered-time ethnic station.

WCIU's digital channel features multicasting of three standard definition digital channels. The first one airs WCIU's regular schedule; the second channel airs "ME TV" from low-powered analog channel 23 (WWME-CA), which has a "classic TV" format; the third channel features WFBT. In April 2006 WCIU channel 26-1 Started broadcasting Local Home Games of the Chicago White Sox, Cubs, and Bulls in Full 720p HD with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio

[edit] History

WCIU spent much of its history carrying multi-ethnic entertainment, and once carried the Telemundo and Univision networks before those networks bought other competing UHF stations. Channel 26 was the birthplace of the ground-breaking African-American music program Soul Train, hosted by its creator (and then-WCIU station employee) Don Cornelius. The show later moved into national syndication and to Los Angeles by the late 1970s. The show is currently seen on WGN-TV, and has been part of that station's Saturday daytime lineup for over two decades. Currently, WCIU is the home of the long-running locally produced show Svengoolie.

From the late 1960s to 1985, WCIU ran religious shows in the early morning. From about 8 a.m. to about 4 or 5 p.m., it ran The Stock Market Observer (business news similar to MSNBC) from the Chicago Board of Trade (whose building housed the WCIU studios). After 5 p.m. on weekdays, the station ran Spanish entertainment programming from The Spanish International Network (now Univision). On weekends, WCIU ran a blend of religious shows, ethnic brokered shows, and Spanish programming. Beginning in the summer of 1985, SIN (now Univision) moved to Channel 44. WCIU picked up Net Span, which would become Telemundo, shortly after. In 1989, Univision returned to WCIU.

In 1994, Univision asked WCIU to drop "Stock Market Observer" and the non-Spanish programs to become a full-time affiliate. WCIU refused, which led Univision to buy WGBO and move its programming to Channel 66. In 1995, WCIU began to broadcast general entertainment programming, taking most of the leftover programming from WGBO. Initially, the station ran business news until 5 p.m. and entertainment programming afterwards and on weekends. WCIU then added a 7-9 a.m. weekday kids block by March 1995. In the fall of 1995, the station added an afternoon kids block from Kids' WB which WGN-TV opted not to run. The business news was pulled back to 9 a.m. to noon on the weekdays, and a couple years later it would move to their low power station on Channel 23 as "WebFN".

The syndicated shows initially consisted of classic sitcoms from the 1960s and 1970s as well as old movies. Eventually more recent sitcoms were added (due in part to WFLD going towards a more news-intensive format) as well as first run syndicated fare such as talk shows, court shows, and reality shows. WCIU also carries selected telecasts of the Chicago Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls, produced by WGN-TV. Occasionally, the station will air Bears and various NCAA sports games, which are produced by ESPN.

By 1999, WCIU dropped the afternoon kids block and kept WB Kids in the morning. In 2004, the station dropped Kids' WB, which moved to WGN-TV. Today WCIU focuses on more recent sitcoms, talk shows, court shows, and newsmagazines.

Early in 2005, the business news format was scaled back to a daily program, "First Business." Channel 23's ethnic programming moved to channel 48, and 23 became WWME-CA which carries classic sitcoms.

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• WCIU's Online Contact Page
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WCIU-TV
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WFBN-LP